Divergent Herondale
by DragonsKnightsandHerondales
Summary: What would it be like if Jace, Clary and the gang had lived in the world of Divergent? How will they react upon meeting characters like Four? Jace and Clary are instantly attracted to each other when they meet eyes at the Choosing Ceremony, but neither are sure they'll have a chance to meet. Until they both choose Dauntless. How will it turn out for them? Will they end up together?
1. Chapter 1

Jace approached the large metal bowls slowly. He wasn't nervous, afraid, or unsure about anything, even though he knew he should be. But he felt like he should draw it out, make everyone wait, make everyone else nervous. It made him feel stronger, more powerful. Maybe he was a little nervous, to have the need to feel powerful…

He took the knife being held out to him by the Dauntless leader, Four, and walked to the center of the bowls. Coals, water, stone, earth, and glass. Each one representing each of the factions. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the line of people still waiting to choose. They were all in their own worlds, too nervous or proud to pay attention to anyone but themselves. Except one. A short girl with fiery red hair and freckles. She was dressed in Abnegation gray, and was practically twiddling her thumbs in anxiety, but she kept her head up, gaze straight. Watching everyone who choose probably. Watching me, he thought. For a moment he reconsidered his choice. He knew he was meant for Dauntless, it's where he was born and it's where he belongs, but something made him want to choose Abnegation just then. It was a peaceful, quiet life with no troubles, no worries and no fighting. And, more importantly, he would be able to get to know the fiery redhead better. But he also knew he wasn't cut out for it. He would never be able to keep his temper, never not think of himself, and never fight. Fighting was his life. Of course he was going to choose Dauntless. He had to. How else would he survive? It was just a shame that he would never officially meet her.

All this happened within a split second, and he re-focused on the choosing. He drew the knife across his palm and let his blood drip into the fiery red coals. He sure did have a thing for fiery things.

Clary stood still as she could, trying not to fiddle with the hem of her shirt. As Abnegation as she was trying to be, it was hard not to think of herself during all of this. Which was even more of a point about how Abnegation she wasn't. She knew her mother was Abnegation, but she also suspected that her mother wasn't all that she seemed. Her mother had pulled her aside and told her to get out of Abnegation, to choose a different faction, disregarding whatever her aptitude test had told her. But if not Abnegation, then what? She wasn't smart enough for Erudite. Maybe Candor, since she was so bad at lying, but she'd heard about the tests and the truth serum, and wasn't sure she was up for that. There were too many things she didn't want to admit to herself, much less an entire faction of people. Amity was peaceful and calm, but, according to her mom and Luke, she overreacted a lot, and Luke had told her she wasn't much of a peacekeeper. That left the tough, brute Dauntless, and was she really cut out for that? She could be brave, yes, but fighting and killing? She would need a lot of practice. Of course, she'd heard that they practice a lot before kicking any initiates out. Maybe she would be able to make it there.

Her best friend, Simon, was up. Clary watched him carefully. He'd told her about his results, even though he hadn't been supposed to. He was something called Divergent- meant for more than one faction. He was meant for both Abnegation and Erudite. How peculiar that he should be meant for two enemy factions. She watched him as he bounced between the water and stone for a minute before he finally cut his hand with a slight wince. He held his hand over the water and let his blood drip in. Erudite. He'd chosen Erudite. In just an instant he was gone from her life.

Clary scowled and had to fight to keep herself from yelling out. How could he? Betraying their faction like that. How utterly ridiculous. If he was going to leave Abnegation, he at least should have chosen a faction that _wasn't_ the enemy of the one he was born into. By the time she'd calmed herself down enough to stop scowling at the ground, they were calling out H's. They were calling people out in backwards alphabetical order, so Clary would be closer to the end to choose.

"Jonathan Herondale," called the Dauntless leader. She thought his name was Four; he was in charge of things this year, of the speech and calling out the names. A muscular boy wearing all black sauntered up and took the knife, then went to the center of the bowls. The light coming in from the windows reflected off his golden hair perfectly, and she saw that he had golden eyes as well. Golden eyes that were looking at her. She stared back before remembering she was Abnegation and probably shouldn't be staring, but by the time she looked away he'd already gone back to the bowls. He seemed to hesitate, but then went to the Dauntless bowl, cut his hand, and let his blood drip in, sizzling against the hot coals.

Clary began thinking again, about her choice. There wasn't much left for her in Abnegation. Her mother, of course, and Luke, but that was it. Simon had abandoned her for Erudite, and even her mom had told her to leave Abnegation. And there was the tempting golden boy from Dauntless. Dauntless were daring and brave and strong, and for a moment she could see herself doing it. Being brave and strong and daring and Dauntless. She'd almost been that during her aptitude test- had almost chosen the knife instead of the cheese, had almost punched the threatening man who insisted she tell him the truth. But she'd restrained herself, knowing that that wasn't what she should do. She had known it was only a simulation, and had known that she wanted to be determined Abnegation. Knew that that was the best faction for her. That was before her mother had told her not to stay. Now she didn't know anything, other than the fact that she had no idea what to do.

Suddenly she was up next and walking forward to take the knife. She cut her palm and hovered between the Dauntless and Abnegation bowls. She glanced back at her mom, sitting next to Luke. Her mom's eyes were full of love. It didn't matter what Clary would choose, she would still be loved.

Clary swung her hand towards the burning coals and let her blood drip in. Dauntless. She was Dauntless. She was crazy and she was Dauntless. Time to be brave.

Jace stood at the back of the Dauntless section, arms crossed as he leaned against a wall. Next to him was his best friend, Alec. Alec was two years older than him, and therefore had chosen his faction some time ago. His younger sister, Isabelle, was Jace's age. She had chosen before him. Dauntless, just like the rest of them. It ran in their family, the choice of Dauntless. The Lightwoods were born into Dauntless, and it looked like they would die that way. Jace's father, Stephen Herondale, had been Dauntless before he died. Jace was told that his dad had switched from Erudite into Dauntless. That was probably the only thing he knew about his father though. His mother had died during childbirth, and before Jace was a toddler his dad had died. No one would specify how though. Jace suspected he'd fallen in the chasm and no one wanted to make Jace ashamed of his father.

Isabelle was babbling about something about all the fun this was going to be and all the new people she would be able to meet. Alec was scolding her, saying that she needs to take initiation more seriously. But Jace wasn't listening to either of them.

The redhead he'd seen earlier was up to make her choice. He saw her hesitate, look back at the Abnegation section. Looking for approval from someone she cared about. He saw her nod slightly, as if deciding for sure. Then she moved her hand over the Dauntless bowl and let her blood drip in. Jace stood up straight, staring in surprise. A Stiff had chosen Dauntless. A short, redheaded quiet girl who seemed too insecure to be anything but Abnegation or Amity or something peaceful and quiet, had chosen Dauntless. She began to come this way, towards the initiates for Dauntless. Distantly he heard Alec saying something and felt a hand on his arm.

"Jace," He heard. "Jace. Jace!" Alec was trying to get his attention.

"What? What?!" Jace said, breaking his gaze from the freckled girl heading this way.

"What's up dude, you just zoned out on us." Alec said accusingly.

"Are you listening to me at all?" Isabelle asked, offended.

"Shut up. I zone out all the time, lay off." Jace replied harshly. Alec glared but shut up and turned back to Isabelle, who gave Jace a concerned glance before beginning to talk at a million miles a minute. Jace sighed and turned away, trying to find the redhead again. She had to be somewhere among the Dauntless. After a minute he spotted her. She was standing around some of the other transfers from this year. He only knew one of them- Maia, a girl from Amity- and she was talking to the short girl. Jace began walking towards them, trying to hear what they were talking about. The redhead laughed and Maia smiled at her and asked, "What was your name again?"

"Clary," She responded. "Clary Fray." Clary. He finally knew her name. And it was a good one at that.

"Well Fray, you're pretty cool for a Stiff." Maia said.

"Thanks, I think." Clary replied.

"Hey Maia," Jace interrupted smoothly. "How's it going?" Maia smiled at him. Damn cheerful Amity's.

"Pretty good. Little nervous. What's the Dauntless initiation anyway? What all do we have to do?" Maia asked, eyebrows coming together.

"Oh not much. Just, you know, jump on and off trains, off buildings, face your worst fears, kill some people." Jace replied nonchalantly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Clary pale. Maia shoved his shoulder, "Oh now, don't kid, that's not funny."

"Oh alright, you won't have to kill anyone. But everything else I said is true." Jace said. The freckles on Clary's face clearly stood out now as her face got paler. She took a quiet breath before talking.

"Will we really have to do all that?" She asked timidly.

"All that and more." Jace said. "That's part of initiation. You think you're cut out for it Stiff?"

"My name is not Stiff." She said with a glare that could shatter glass. "It's Clary."

"Well, _Clary,_ my name's Jace. And I'll be your fellow initiate. See you on the field." Jace said, turning and walking back towards Isabelle and Alec.

**A/N: Haha, do you see what I did there? "My name is not ****little girl** **Stiff". Hope you all like it so far! I'll post as much as I can, but I make no promises. Tell me what you think and let me know if you think I should continue! Follows, favorites, and comments are all appreciated! Thanks for reading! Stay lovely~**


	2. Chapter 2

Before she knew it, Clary and the other Dauntless were running out of the building. Clary stayed as close to Maia as she could. Even though she was from Amity, Maia had a dark side about her. She'd been hardened, although by what Clary didn't know.

Clary heard the train whistle as it came closer and she didn't know if she felt excited or nervous. She'd never jumped on a train before, had never even considered it. She watched the Dauntless jump on in front of her. Jump, grab the handle, pull in. Most of the initiates were in front of her and already jumping on. Then it was their turn. Maia jumped without hesitating, grabbing the handle and pulling herself in seemingly effortlessly. Clary bent her knees and sprang, reaching for the train. But she'd misjudged. She wasn't going to reach the handle, she was going to fall and become factionless, she-

Maia grabbed her hand and pulled Clary in, and they moved off to the side as the rest of the initiates jumped into the train.

"Thanks," Clary said, turning to Maia.

"Any time girl," Maia said with a smile. "You'll get the hang of it I'm sure." Clary nodded but didn't say anything. The wind was picking up as the train went faster, so her words probably would've gotten lost in the noise anyway.

After they had jumped off the train and onto the top of a building (losing only one initiate (an Erudite transfer), the Dauntless leader gathered everyone at the opposite end of the building, introducing himself as Four. Clary was confused how they were going to get to the compound exactly, and she looked around as Four spoke.

"You're going to have to jump," A voice whispered by her ear. She jumped and turned to see Jace, his golden hair shining brightly in the sunlight, a smirk on his face.

"You say that like I wouldn't do it," She replied, crossing her arms.

"You're a Stiff. You certainly won't do it if you don't have to." Jace said. Clary glared.

"Says you. I'm not a Stiff. I'm a Dauntless initiate and I would jump off this building any day." Clary said shortly, annoyed he would think so low of her. Just because she was from Abnegation didn't mean she lived by their rules all the time, and especially not now.

"Oh, really?" Jace asked doubtfully. Clary nodded defiantly. "Prove it."

"How?" Clary asked immediately, feeling the need to prove herself.

"Jump." Jace said. When she looked at him, confused, he finished. "_First_."

"What?" Clary asked, surprised. Jumping first wasn't that big a deal, she would have to do it anyway. "That's it? You want me to jump first?"

"Yup," Jace answered simply. His eyebrow shot up. "Unless you're too scared and you were lying about wanting to be Dauntless."

"I'm not a liar." Clary said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe you should've gone to Candor then." Jace replied. Clary didn't say anything and Jace stalked off. Clary watched until he was out of sight, then turned back to Maia, who looked at Clary with her eyebrows raised.

"Well, well, getting into a spat already? You really might be cut out for Dauntless." Maia commented, laughing.

"Thanks, I think." Clary replied.

"Just a warning, Jace isn't exactly the golden boy he looks. He's trouble. You might want to stay away from him." Maia said.

"I wasn't looking to go near him in the first place." Clary said defensively, not entirely sure this was true. If nothing else, she would at least like to get a good enough look at him to draw him, now that she could draw freely.

"Alright, fine. I'm just saying." Maia said, raising her hands into the air in defeat.

Clary stuck her tongue out and Maia laughed.

"I'm gonna do it," Clary said excitedly, already feeling the adrenaline pumping through her.

"Do what?" Maia asked.

"Jump first!" She replied. Maia shook her head.

"Alright, your funeral." Maia said before shooing her ahead and towards the front of the pack of initiates.

"You want us to jump?" One of the transfers asked incredulously.

"Yes." Four replied flatly. "Who wants to go first?" Clary hesitated. It was true that she had no idea what was down there, but at the same time she wanted to take the risk and prove herself. She stepped forward before anyone else could. Four nodded at her and moved to the side. She carefully stepped up onto the ledge, hoping she wouldn't lose her balance or do anything stupid. She forced herself not to look back at Jace, who would probably be sneering at her. She couldn't see to the bottom of the pit, nothing but blackness. She took a deep breath, bent her knees, and jumped.

For a moment Clary felt like she was flying, and if she'd been able to, probably would've stretched out her arms. But the wind was too strong, and it lasted for only a moment. She hit a net hard and winced. She rolled over, towards what she thought was the edge of the net. A strong hand reached up and she grabbed it and allowed herself to be pulled down out of the net.

When she was on her feet, the man attached to the hand smiled at her.

"Welcome to Dauntless," He said as a group below them began to cheer. Clary couldn't help but smile as she walked down and leaned against a wall. Her heart was still pounding but she was happy. Maybe she could do this after all.

It was some time before everyone had jumped down. Most of the transfer initiates went after the Dauntless born, although there were a few that jumped fairly early on. Maia had jumped only a few people after Clary. The two girls stood together, leaning against a wall.

"This is so crazy," Maia commented, watching person after person jump. After a moment she added, "I love it."

"It's certainly Dauntless for you," Clary replied, scanning the room. Nearly everyone was down here, only a few were left to jump from the top and she was pretty sure they were all transfers. She couldn't see much through the sea of black, couldn't find any way to distinguish one clump of Dauntless from the next.

Clary looked at Maia again, only to realize that she was staring at her.

"What?" Clary asked, crossing her arms defensively.

"You're looking for him aren't you?" Maia said accusingly.

"No!" Clary protested. "I was just… getting a look at everything and everyone. It's very different here than it was back in Abnegation."

"Yeah, that's true. It's loud and fun and great and daring and-" Maia ranted excitedly.

"I know." Clary interrupted. "It's Dauntless. And we're both going to have to get used to it. Of course, you're halfway there, being from Amity." Before Maia could say anything, the initiates were called together and lead down many twisting halls, that all looked the same in Clary's opinion. She was going to end up lost so often…

"Alright, Dauntless born will split off now, unless they really want a tour of the place they've lived their whole lives." The woman leading us called. Her comment got some chuckles out of everyone, but it didn't last long. Clary tried and failed to recall the woman's name, and shrugged it off. The woman lead the Dauntless born down the right branch and the rest of them were lead down the left. There weren't many of the transfers, only 10 Clary counted, 11 including herself. There weren't any other Abnegation transfers. Of the 10, Clary counted 2 Amity (including Maia), 4 Candor, and 4 Erudite. At first glance, no one in particular made an impression. So she hung by Maia, trying to pay attention to where everything was.

When they reached the room where they would be staying the woman leading them rattled off instructions— times they would get up, when training would start, what they would be doing— but Clary wasn't paying much attention. She wanted to settle in and sleep. The adrenaline from earlier had worn off, and she wasn't used to so much exertion. She didn't have to wait long. The woman left, and everyone choose their beds. Clary chose hers in the middle of the room, next to Maia. Soon enough, they were all in bed, trying to sleep.

It took Clary some time to fall asleep. She kept thinking of Simon and her family, and wishing they could be here too. Especially Simon. She hadn't expected him to choose Erudite, but in hindsight she could see why. He was a curious person, and hadn't made too much effort to hide his enjoyment of the books they were assigned at school. But she had always pegged him for Dauntless too— he had been talking about going to Dauntless and joining a band, and he enjoyed playing games and reading up on myths when no one was looking. She came to the conclusion that it was the aptitude test that had changed his mind. It must have been. He had said that he'd been meant for Abnegation and Erudite, not Dauntless at all. The problem was, she had no one to talk about it with. They weren't supposed to talk about the results of their aptitude tests, although it wasn't strictly forbidden. She'd heard that it was once, and assumed that that was why everyone thought it so taboo. Clary sighed and rolled over, forcing herself to shut her mind off and get some sleep. She would need it.

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry that I don't update regularly, but I never said I would. I fixed the first chapter, because I finally went back and edited it properly. If you don't wanna re-read it, not much changed. I fixed the POV thing and changed the Dauntless leader from Max to Four, because I realized that that's where I want to go with this. Sorry for any confusion. Anyway, thanks for reading! I appreciate all follows, favorites, and especially comments. I'll update as soon as possible (but don't expect much…) Stay lovely!**

**Ps- I'll try and update my other Divergent fanfic soon, but I think I'm starting that one over. Sorry, stay with me I'm trying! Thanks again~**


	3. Chapter 3

They woke early, and Clary listened to Maia as she explained what they would be doing. The physical training would be first, which was why the Dauntless born and transfers were separated. They'd all been given black clothes to wear, although they were slightly baggy on Clary. When Maia saw, she smiled sympathetically.

"Don't worry, we'll go shopping this weekend. Saturday. That's our first free day." Maia said. Clary quickly agreed. As much as she didn't want to let her family and Abnegation go, she knew it would be better the faster she did it, and real shopping sounded easy enough. She was confused as to why her mom had told her to leave Abnegation though, and vowed to try and find out when they saw each other.

They were worked hard throughout the training session, although they were only doing basics today. The instructor, a man named Uriah, pushed them but wasn't unkind. They had a quick lunch, and then did more work. When they were finally dismissed for the day, Clary was relieved. She ached all over, and was tired. She wasn't used to this kind of thing yet, but she could tell she would get the hang of it. She'd quickly figured out the punches and kicks they'd been working on.

Clary sat next to Maia at a vacant table, examining her food. She'd heard that the food here was going to be different, but she hadn't realized how different. Or how much she would like it. She ate as much as she could as her and Maia talked.

"You did well today, though! I'm jealous!" Maia said after Clary told her how tired she was. Clary laughed.

"You were good too!" Clary responded. "We'll both get the hang of it, it'll just take some time I think."

"You already have the hang of it! You're just a little tired, nothing some sleep won't fix." Maia argued, meaning it.

"Well thanks, but I'm not _that_ good." Clary said. Maia gave her a pointed look. "Alright, I am decent, but I'm not amazing or anything. I'm not in shape. I've never exercised in my life!"

"I know, me neither. Not really anyway. Amity requires some work, but hardly anything like this." Maia explained. Before either of them could say anything else, a scream of horror ripped across the room. The hall was silenced quickly, and then burst with sound as everyone talked. Clary stood instantly, trying to figure out what had happened. There was a group gathering around the chasm, and Clary could hear someone sobbing. She and Maia pushed their way through the crowd. They couldn't get close enough to see it, but Clary heard from everyone around her. A young girl had jumped into the chasm. An initiate. Clary thought she heard the word 'Amity', but wasn't sure. Finally the Dauntless leader, Four, had a microphone.

"Everyone but the initiates are dismissed. _Now_." He said as people hesitated and grumbled. "Initiates, report here immediately." The room emptied slowly, until eventually it was just the initiates gathered around Four, near the chasm. Four sighed and rubbed his forehead. Somehow in the time the room was being emptied, the body had been pulled out of the water and covered.

"Listen up, initiates!" Four called, silencing the small amount of talk there had been. "First off, I'm sorry for your loss, but you all need to realize that death happens. We are a faction of risk-takers and risk can lead to death. So accept that." Clary stared at him, slightly annoyed. Was he really just going to brush off this girls' death like that?

"Second, I want you all to realize that if you have issues, with this faction, with people, with yourself, then you need to tell us. Suicide is not a solution. It is selfish and fearful, and we do not accept those things here." He continued. Clary could tell he meant more than what he was saying though. He didn't want to appear anything other than a Dauntless leader, but he also cared. He was hurt by this, but was too prideful— and bitter, she thought— to show it.

"Look, initiates. If you're choosing between suicide and being factionless, then choose being factionless." Four finished, clearly struggling to say what he wanted. "Death isn't worth it. It'll only hurt those around you." He finished finally.

"Say your goodbyes and head to bed, you all still have a lot of training to do tomorrow." Four said, turning and walking off before anyone could say anything. Clary looked around, finally figuring out who it was that had jumped. It was the only other girl from Amity, she knew that, but Clary couldn't recall her name. She turned to Maia, who was pale.

"Maia, I'm so sorry." Clary said. "Are you okay?" She tentatively placed a hand on the other girls' shoulder. Maia shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

"Yeah. I'll be okay." She said shakily. "I just— I need a minute." Clary nodded and watched the other girl walk over. Clary saw another girl kneeling by the dead Amity's dripping head, sobbing. She must have been the girl who screamed. Clary watched sadly as Maia spoke to her and knelt beside her. Clary felt detached, as if she were dreaming. They weren't even a day into training and already something terrible had happened. She could understand getting on and off the train, and maybe even jumping off the building, and losing people then, but here and now? To something so awful? It was appalling.

"Hey," a quiet voice by her ear made her jump slightly. She turned and saw Jace and barely refrained from rolling her eyes.

"What do you want now?" She snapped angrily. She didn't feel like company.

"I just wanted to see how you were holding up." Jace replied defensively. "Jumping first, training all day, then this. Probably takes a lot out of you."

"What's that supposed to mean? You think I can't handle things?" Clary asked, crossing her arms and glaring.

"I take it you're okay then," He said. "Guess you're more Dauntless than I realized, Stiff."

"I told you, my name's Clary. Not 'Stiff'." Clary said through clenched teeth, annoyed at the nickname for her faction. Her _old_ faction, she corrected mentally.

"Well _Clary_, congratulations. You proved me wrong. That kind of thing doesn't happen every day." Jace said, smirking when he said her name. "Anyway, I guess I'll be seeing you around. G'night." He turned quickly and walked away, hands in his pockets. Clary quickly came to the conclusion that she would never be able to puzzle out what went through his head.

Clary turned when Maia touched her shoulder. There were tear streaks on her cheeks, and she was sniffling. Clary gave her a quick hug, then helped guide her back to their room (thankful that she was able to find the way at all). The two quickly got into their beds and fell asleep.

…

Surprisingly, the week went quickly and without another incident. Both Clary and Maia got better at their skills, and Maia teased Clary for being the top of the class. Clary brushed it off, telling her each time that she couldn't know for sure. There weren't any scores, and Uriah never said anything about her doing well. Maia was at it again while they were shopping in their first free hours since initiation began.

"Oh stop it! The only reason he doesn't say anything is because there've been incidents before with jealousy." Maia scolded after Clary had refused to believe her.

"What do you mean?" Clary asked, turning away from the rack of clothes she was examining to face the other girl.

"You haven't heard?" Maia asked, incredulous. "The Dauntless talk about things like that all the time! Are your ears permanently shut or something?"

"Just tell me what you heard this time!" Clary replied, rolling her eyes, used to Maia picking up on practically every rumor and bit of history there was in this place.

"You know Four?" Maia asked, and Clary glared impatiently. "Well apparently during his initiation, things were a lot more competitive. Dauntless was different back then. They only excepted a certain number of people, like the top ten or something. They were scored and everything."

"They just turned people away? Left them factionless? But why?" Clary asked, perplexed.

"I don't know," She replied with a shrug. "That's just what they did."

"So what happened?" Clary prompted.

"Apparently some guy that was a transfer got a little too aggressive. He stabbed a higher ranking kid in the eye. And then they just let him continue, as if he didn't do anything wrong." Maia explained, shaking her head.

"That's… brutal," She said, struggling for the right word.

"Thankfully that's over now though." Maia said more cheerfully. "I still haven't gotten the full story on that, but I don't think more than a few people alive lived it, so it wouldn't be easy to hear." Clary couldn't help but laugh at the girl's gossip; She never been interested in it, but she didn't mind it the way Maia told it.

"Come on," Clary interrupted her rambling. "Help me find some nice clothes so we have time to get our tattoos."

That night, Clary had to sleep on her stomach to keep her aching shoulder from keeping her awake. At least, her shoulder was the excuse she used— she still missed her family to tell the truth. She sighed and banished the thoughts, running her fingers over her shoulder again. She'd decided to get a tattoo of a strange symbol that she'd seen in the store, on the back of her right shoulder. It was a sort of rune-like symbol of a black design like an eye.

**A/N: Hey guys! So, I am very very **_**very**_ **sorry that it have been so long since I have updated. I lost interest in it, and then got swamped with school and my senior year. in fact, I still am… Anyway, I am sorry, and I will try to update again as soon as I can, however don't count on it being too soon. I hope you like it so far though! As always, reviews, follows, etc. are much appreciated (and encourage/remind me to continue this)! Thanks for reading, stay lovely~ Oh, and happy (early) holidays! **


	4. Chapter 4

"Listen up transfers!" Uriah called as he walked into the training room. It was supposedly their last week of their physical training, which they were all excited about. They'd been at this for almost a month now. "This is it! This is the last week of physical training. But you have to put it into action after this. Prove you can take it. And you have to want it." His voice softened as he stood in front of them, and Clary thought she heard him sigh.

"You lot are at a disadvantage, and don't forget it. Use it to your advantage. The Dauntless-born won't expect much from you, so use that. Surprise them, and show them you're here to stay." Was it just her, or had he looked at Clary as he said that last bit?

"So this is it?" An initiate asked, an Erudite transfer whose name she couldn't recall. She never had been good with names… He continued, "What are we doing after this? If our training's done haven't we proved ourselves enough?"

"No. You must show that you are not only strong enough to deal out damage, but strong enough to take it. Just being able to throw a punch doesn't mean you can hit a real person." Uriah replied tersely. "You are not done with your training yet either. There is one more lesson for you lot. We'll be throwing knives at targets this week. And yes, you only have one week to learn to do it." There were several initiates with their mouths open, and a few protesting, but Clary shrugged. She'd learned every other move they had done in a week, rather than the week and a half or two weeks they typically spent on perfecting a move. Maia had been right about her doing well; She learned quick and sometimes felt like the time they took on everything was only holding her back. She was still nervous about what they'd be doing next though. How were they to prove themselves? He'd mentioned the other, Dauntless born initiates. Were they going to be tested somehow against them? Before she could puzzle about it any further, Maia grabbed her arm and pulled her with the rest of the initiates to a table holding many knives. She snapped out of it and grabbed a bundle, taking her place in front of the targets in the group clustered near Uriah.

"Alright everyone, watch closely while I demonstrate. We need the knives to go in the right direction at the very least." Uriah said, lining up. The nervous group chuckled a little, relieving some tension. They had never practiced with real weapons before, and some of them seemed to be very aware of it, holding the knives away from their bodies. Glancing around though, she saw that at least half of them looked ready to do anything, and as if throwing a knife at a target might even be below them.

Clary watched closely as Uriah pulled his hand and arm back, then launched the weapon through the air, end over end. It thumped into the target, just above the center. Uriah glared at the knife as if it had betrayed him, then masked his features. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a chuckle. Everyone turned towards the back of the room, where the door was. Four stood there leaning against it casually, watching them all with piercing eyes.

"How long has he been there?" Maia hissed in her ear, slightly alarmed. "I never even heard the door!" Before Clary could answer, Four slide over to Uriah an arm draping over his shoulder.

"Don't be too downfallen Uriah! You can't hit the center every time." He joked. Uriah smiled and shoved him away, handing a knife over.

"Show them how you do it, Four." Uriah said. He hesitated but took the knife. There was a flash in his eyes, gone so fast she wasn't sure she hadn't imagined it. He grinned lightly, flipping the dagger in his hand before taking Uriah's place in front of the target. The small group of initiates around her rippled in excitement. They would get to see the Dauntless leader in action, in one of the areas he was said to be best in. _The_ best even.

Clary, being so short, was already at the front of the group, closest to Four. Four took a breath, calming himself as he aimed. No, that couldn't be right. There was no fear, nothing but calm already. She shook her head, thinking she needed to get more sleep. She focused intently once more on Four. He pulled his arm back, ready to throw, and time slowed. She hadn't realized the initiates around her had begun pushing, wanting a better look at exactly what he was doing. Pushing too much. Clary was shoved, and she couldn't tell if it was someone pushing her, or someone running into her, but either way she stumbled forward— too far. Into the direct path of Four's knife. Four's face twisted and his arm jerked, aiming away, but it didn't do much. He'd already thrown it. Clary tried to duck, but she knew she was too close and too slow. The knife flew at her, and Clary found out the cliche was true. She thought of her life, how young she was and how she'd never find out the mystery of her mother…

Pain lanced through the side of her head. Clary stumbled, blinking in surprise as she heard the knife clatter to the ground somewhere behind her. It hadn't killed her. It had grazed the left side of her head and the top of her ear. Her head was burning anyway, so that was her guess. She reached her fingers up to the painful spot, and saw the sticky blood on her fingers when she pulled them back in front of her face. Her ears were ringing and her eyesight was blurry, and she distantly heard shouts but she couldn't make anything out. Slowly everything sped up once more, and the sounds crashed around her, the lights coming into focus brightly, making her squint. Maia was at her side, speaking to her and letting Clary lean into her as she gripped her arm. Distantly she realized she'd almost collapsed, and was slightly amazed that her friend hadd gotten to her to catch her before she fell.

"Clary? Can you hear me?" Maia asked, clearly concerned but trying to hide it.

"Ouch," She responded weakly. Maia laughed shakily, shaking her head.

"Sit down, you're still losing blood." Maia ordered, regaining her composure slightly. Clary obeyed instantly and would have fallen, but Maia supported her and lowered her to her knees and then sitting slowly. Clary leaned her head on the other girls shoulder, grateful. Her head was throbbing horribly, but she didn't care much, she still had adrenaline running. What surprised her was that she was alive; She'd thought she would die, directly in line of that deadly knife with the expert behind it. But she was alive. How?

"Uriah!" Maia shouted, exasperated. "Will you quit chewing him out already and help me? The cut's pretty shallow, but it's not nothing!"

"I'm okay," Clary protested, but it sounded weak even to her own ears. Maia didn't respond, but Clary had the feeling that if she'd looked she'd have seen the girl roll her eyes. She had only said it so she didn't seem so weak in front of everyone, and Maia knew it. But still, this was Dauntless, shouldn't she be a little stronger than this? No, instead she'd basically collapsed just now, not to mention getting pushed in the first place. Clary gave a shout of pain when something touched her wound.

"Relax, we need to put pressure on it so we can get you to the medical center," Uriah said quietly, surprising her with his kindness. Clary felt like whimpering, but she bit her lip and nodded slightly. That was a bad idea, as dizziness swept over her, but it passed when she was still for a minute. She felt once more the pressure on the wound and bit back her cry. Dauntless didn't cry out in pain. It was just a slight, shallow head injury. No one else would be this shocked. Then she remembered her reason for being so shocked: She'd almost died. Maybe it wasn't completely unreasonable…

"How-" She started, then cleared her throat when she realized how dry it was. "How am I alive? That knife was aimed right at me. I should be dead…" She shivered at the memory. It would haunt her for a while, she was sure.

"If it had been anyone besides Four," Uriah replied. "You would be." Clary looked up in surprise, meeting his eyes and seeing he was very serious. She glanced around the room, careful not to move her head much so that he could wrap more and more gauze around it. Four was no where to be seen. Most of the initiates were huddled together in a circle, some of them glancing at her occasionally. Two stood apart— a boy from Erudite and a girl from Candor. Clary distantly remembered them hanging out often, so she knew they were friends. The boy was glancing over at her often, clearly very worried. The girl looked to be comforting him. Then it clicked— Uriah had been yelling at someone. She'd been pushed. Probably not deliberately, but clearly the blame had been put on this boy. She felt instantly sorry. If she'd been paying better attention instead of being so focused on Four and the knife, this might not have happened. She'd just wanted to know how he did it.

What she was most curious about though was why Four had disappeared. Was he angry with her? Was she going to be thrown out and become factionless? Would the boy who'd been blamed become factionless? She'd feel guilty forever if that happened, and prayed that it wouldn't. A shot of pain made her thoughts disappear and she winced.

"Sorry," Uriah apologized. "Look's like your ear's cut…" He trailed off glancing backwards at the door, expression softening. Clearly he understood something that Clary didn't. She couldn't concentrate on figuring it out though, not with her head spinning. He cleared his throat and turned back to her and Maia.

"Do know where the medical center is?" Uriah asked Maia, who Clary felt nod. "Can you get her there on your own?"

"Yeah, I've got her." Maia insisted. Their trainer nodded, then stood and turned to the rest of the initiates.

"Get to work!" He barked, back in command once more. "You should be practicing, not socializing! Get to work on your stance!" Maia shifted, urging Clary to stand. She did so, albeit slowly and on wobbling legs. The room spun but she wouldn't let that stop her. Maia led them out of the training room, Clary trying not to lean too heavily on her. Maia was babbling instantly, which comforted Clary slightly. If Maia could still babble and gossip then it couldn't be that bad.

"That was insane!" Maia hissed. "Oh my god, I can not believe that happened. Did you see Four's face? He looked practically tortured as he left the room, it was so hot. Although I guess it was more pale than tortured." If Clary hadn't been focusing completely on walking and keeping the world from spinning, she probably would've replied. Instead she was forced to let the girl talk and half listen.

"I wonder what was wrong with him. There has got to be an interesting story there! How have I not heard about it!" Maia ranted. "Do you really think it might have killed you, had he not been fast enough to re-aim? Because, I mean, you ducked pretty quickly." Maia paused, and Clary realized in horror that she was waiting for Clary to say something.

"It felt like I was going to die, Maia." She managed to get out, concentrating, voice strained. "I shouldn't be alive right now."

"Are you alright? You're getting paler…" Maia said after a moment, pausing their slow steps and looking at Clary. Clary tried to turn her head to meet Maia's gaze, tell her she was fine, just a little dizzy. As soon as she turned her head a little though the world spun rapidly and her knees wobbled. She collapsed into Maia, her full weight surprising her and pulling them both down.

"Crap, Clary. Clary, tell me you didn't pass out." Maia shook her gently. Clary opened her eyes, not remembering having closed them.

"I'm just dizzy…" Clary insisted, but her words slurred.

"Please don't pass out. I can't carry you. And passing out is a bad sign. You're supposed to be okay!" Maia babbled nervously, trying to get Clary to sit up. She succeeded, but only for a moment. Clary didn't have the strength left in her to sit up, and she wondered distantly when she'd lost all that strength. Before she could say or do anything else, black crept into her vision and she passed out.

…

Clary woke slowly, her hearing coming back first, although muffled. There wasn't anything to hear besides soft shoes walking around the area, and soft voices saying nothing she could depict. The pain came back next, her head throbbing, the left side particularly so. She rolled to her right slowly, trying to put as little pressure on the wound as possible. When she didn't feel like she would get dizzy or throw up, she opened her eyes. The room was bright white, with fluorescent lights everywhere. She was on one of a row of beds, sheets as white as everything else. Slowly (although as fast as she could manage), she sat up. She noticed an IV in her arm, and followed the tube with her eyes to the bag it was attached to, filled with water. Ignoring that, she looked around the rest of the room, resting heavily on the wall behind her. Sitting up had made her want to sleep again, and she wished greatly that she had more energy. She couldn't have lost _that_ much blood, right? How long had she been unconscious anyway? Her eyes found a row of armchairs, one at the foot of each bed, turned sideways in a very unstylistic manner. But that wasn't what surprised her. In the chair at the foot of her bed was…

"Four?" Clary croaked, her voice sounded drier than a desert. He had been resting his head on his hand, eyes shut, but he jerked upright then looked at her. He sighed— in relief? She couldn't tell for sure.

"Good, you're awake." He said, almost smiling. He stood and went to a short table beside her bed, which held a water pitcher and paper cups. He poured a cup and offered it to her, then asked, "How's your head?" Clary drank the water gratefully, parched.

"Well," She said finally. "Considering it got carved, it's good. In general however, pretty crappy." Four finally smiled, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at her.

"Yeah, I'm _really_ sorry about that. And sorry for walking out." He said.

"_You're_ sorry? If it wasn't for your quick reactions I'd probably be dead." Clary replied, gaze fierce and insistent. "Thank you."

"Well you ducked too. Very fast, good on your part as well. Although a shoulder wound might have gone a little better than a head one, and that was where I was able to aim…" He said, shrugging. "You lost a lot of blood, and then the shock of almost dying probably hit hard. Don't feel bad about not being able to get to the med center."

"You mean fainting? Blood loss or not I probably could have handled everything better." Clary said bluntly. She took a breath and continued, steeling herself. "So am I factionless? Is that why you're here?" She didn't look at him— couldn't— until he laughed kindly.

"No, if anything this proves you belong in Dauntless more than anyone." He explained at her raised eyebrows.

"Not bad for a Stiff then." Clary said it almost to herself. Four's grin disappeared, and he tensed. He cleared his throat and walked back to the chair, settling quickly. Clary was confused, but didn't ask, instead tried to find something to busy herself. She grabbed a piece of hair that had fallen in her face, twirling and un-twirling it around her finger, waiting for him to say something. After a minute she couldn't take it. She brushed the hair behind her ear, ready to say something. But the thought of breaking the silence was stopped when she brushed her ear. It had been cut too, but just barely, so it hadn't been bandaged. She winced and whispered a small "ouch", pulling her hand away quickly and glaring at it. Stupid betraying hand.

"I cut your ear too, right?" Clary looked up sharply and saw Four, head back and staring blindly at the ceiling. He barked a short laugh, then said, "That hasn't been a problem for a while. And I've been demonstrating my knife throwing for years again now… "

"What do you mean?" She asked softly after a moment of hesitation.

"A while ago, maybe 3 years, I was teaching a class of initiates. I wasn't the leader of Dauntless back then, and things were… different." He explained. "The Dauntless leader at the time, Eric, came to watch the initiates while I taught knife throwing. One of the initiates had trouble, and Eric wouldn't leave the kid alone. And this girl told him off. She had the right idea about what Dauntless should really be, and she wasn't afraid to share it at that moment. Eric turned his wrath on her then, challenging her." He took a breath, pausing, as if the memory hurt. Maybe it did. Clary wished she knew, wished she was able to read him better.

"She had to stand in front of the target and not flinch while knives were thrown at her. I had the better aim, and didn't trust Eric to play fair, so I was threw the knives. She did it. In front of everyone. I threw three knives and she hardly blinked. But I had to satisfy Eric too. He was too dangerous to piss off, and I wasn't ready to fight him yet. I threw the last knife too close, and it cut her ear. She was angry, but we were both safer for it, whether she knew it or not at the time." Finally his eyes focused and he looked at her, but it was clear he wasn't just looking at her. He was seeing someone else. "She was a Stiff, like you. From Abnegation. You remind me of her in a lot of ways. You know she jumped first too? I didn't think I could've been more surprised by her than when she did that, but she did a lot of surprising things. I think you're going to do a lot of surprising things." He was done talking clearly, and Clary felt like she should say something. But she didn't know what. He had opened up with his story of the past, and compared her to someone that he clearly cared about. Or had at one time. Where was this girl now? Why had she never heard anything about an Abnegation going Dauntless? It wasn't like that happened every year. If that was 3 years ago, where was this girl now? Why wasn't she here? What had happened? She had a feeling that it hadn't been good, but she didn't know. And she still hadn't said anything. What could she say? Should she say anything?

"You belong in Dauntless, Clary," Four said finally, standing. "Don't forget it. And don't forget you have friends here." He turned and began to walk away, but she spoke before he got too far.

"Four," She called. He paused, turning slightly, and looking over his shoulder. "Thank you." He nodded and a small smile brushed his lips before he was gone.

…

Clary was napping when Maia shook her awake. Clary sat up, blinking away the sleep and leaning on the wall behind her. She was feeling better, but her head still ached and she got tired pretty fast so she hadn't been allowed to leave even though she'd woken up.

"Clary!" Maia greeted enthusiastically. "I am so glad you're okay! How are you? When can you get out of here? Do you know why the nurses wouldn't let anyone in to visit until practically now?"

"Maia!" Clary interrupted the barrage of questions, head buzzing slightly. "One question at a time please! Wait- you couldn't visit?"

"Nope, no one seems to know why, since I haven't heard." Maia said sighing in annoyance. She hated missing out on gossip. "Do _you_ know why?" She glared suspiciously.

"I was sleeping a lot…" She trailed off. Somehow she didn't think Four wanted anyone to know he'd visited. She trusted Maia but the girl was too much of a gossip to be able to keep such a large secret. She changed the subject, "But whatever, I'm better now, although still healing so they won't let me out. How long have I been here anyway? How long was I unconcious?"

"Well since we got you too the medical center, it's been a day. And a half." Maia said delicately, looking away.

"How am I supposed to learn to throw a knife in 3 days!" Clary sat up straight, alarmed. "Tell me you're lying and I'm not that far behind. Please tell me it's a joke."

"Clary, relax," Maia said softly, as if talking to a wounded animal. Clary huffed and sat back, which she would have had to do anyway in a minute. "Listen, you'll catch up. You're great at all this stuff. And besides we can do some extra practice over the weekend if you really think you need it. We could probably convince Uriah. And if not we could try Four, he's good at throwing knives." Maia suggested, smiling at the thought.

"Maybe not Four?" Clary countered. Maia pouted. Clary sighed. "Only as a last resort. A _very_ last resort. Got it?" Maia nodded, although Clary could tell that Maia was hoping it would come to it. Clary wasn't so sure she wanted to have to interact with him again. She just didn't know what to say anymore. An idea sparked in her head.

"Hey, Maia," Clary asked slowly, thinking on how to phrase this right. "What do you know about past Abnegation transfers into Dauntless?"

"I know it doesn't happen often. The two factions are like opposites, I mean really. But like a couple times every 5 or 10 years an Abnegation will transfer to Dauntless. They usually don't last." Maia replied. "Why? Curious if you can make it?"

"Maybe," Clary replied, going along with her assumption. "What about any who made it?"

"Not many do, but there've been a few. That's what I've heard anyway." She paused, thinking. "I think there was one not too long ago, but she's not around anymore and no one wants to talk about her. I don't know why. No one will tell me _anything_." Clary sat silently, thinking. That _had_ to be the girl Four mentioned. Right? Who else could it be?

"Anyway, so when can you ditch this hell hole of white?" Maia asked, glancing around at the bright white room.

"I don't know. Soon I hope." Clary replied. They were silent for a few minutes, then more questions popped into Clary's head. "How did you get me here after I fainted?"

"Oh, well there was basically no one around, but I didn't want to leave you. I called down the halls for help, and a knight in shining armor helped me get you here." Maia smiled brightly. Clary rolled her eyes.

"_Who_?" She asked. "Anyone I know? Should I be embarrassed? Then again, everyone must know by now what happened so that's a pointless question. Anyway, who?"

"Four," Maia practically squealed. Clary felt the blood drain out of her face. "He was near by I guess, and so he came and carried you the rest of the way in his arms. He's strong." She said the last bit appraisingly, sighing.

"I take it back, I'm embarrassed!" Clary said, hiding her face in her hands for a second before peeking through them again. "How could you let that happen!" She was whining, she knew, but she couldn't help it. Had Four stayed with through the night then?

"Oh please, you should be happy! He's dashing, you have to admit." Maia said, propping her head in one hand and fluttering her eyelashes teasingly. She wasn't wrong, Four was good looking, but she didn't think she should think of him like that.

"Oh god Maia!" Clary buried her face in her hands again, laughing this time (although she wasn't quite sure why), and Maia joined in. After a few minutes, they'd calmed down.

"Any other news I should know?" Clary asked, suppressing a yawn. Damn her lack of energy.

"Nothing that can't wait," Maia said, noticing her yawn and shaking her head.

"Oh come on," Clary protested. "Talk to me!"

"Alright, alright," She relented, unable to hold back her talkative nature. "So you know how Uriah was talking about testing our skills? And the other, Dauntless born initiates?" Clary nodded and she continued, "Well turns out we're going to be putting our skills to some _serious_ use. We'll be fighting each other. All of us, transfer and Dauntless born. Not serious knock-out stuff, but I don't know all the details. Yet." Clary nodded. It made sense; Fighting an actual person would be good experience, and it would require actual thinking and strategizing. On top of that they would be with the Dauntless born, which meant more of a challenge and probably more fun. She couldn't wait.

"Sounds fun," Clary replied sincerely, grinning. "I can't wait."

"That's my girl! I knew you were feeling better!" Maia said, grinning back. It wavered slightly and she said, "Hey, but don't let it go to your head. We don't want to get our butts kicked. Especially by the Dauntless born. And I'm sure you don't want to lose to Jace." The grin had returned, more sly now. Clary glared half-heartedly, fighting a laugh. She failed and then they were both laughing again. After a minute, Clary yawned before she could stop it. Maia frowned.

"You should rest, Clary. Seriously this time." Maia stood before Clary could protest. She hugged Clary quickly and she returned it. "I'm glad you're okay, but you better get better soon."

"I will, don't worry. Thanks Maia." Clary replied, releasing her from the hug. Maia smiled.

"Any time girl," She said, waving as she walked out.

Clary sighed, glad she would be able to rest. But she still needed to know when she could leave. She waited for a nurse to walk by and asked.

"You should be well enough tomorrow, but you're here at least another night dear." She replied, smiling sympathetically. Then she frowned, "Your friend that came to see you didn't tell you?"

"No, Maia didn't know…" Clary trailed off, confused.

"No, the boy before she came. You were asleep, he said he might wait until you woke up. Said he was also an initiate?" The nurse replied, eyebrows furrowing. Clary shook her head, having no clue what she was talking about. "Hm, he must have left I guess." She shrugged and walked away, leaving Clary to puzzle it out as she fell asleep.

**A/N: Woohoo finally another chapter! It's been ages, I know, I'm sorry. This one's longer, does that make up for my lack of updating? No? I'll keep trying. Thank you all so so so sooo much for reviewing! I really appreciate the feedback, and it motivates me to write a lot more often. Also, thanks for all and any follows and favorites. And of course, for reading! Stay lovely~**


	5. Chapter 5

"This is going to be so much fun!" Isabelle said and Jace grinned at her.

"What, getting to beat up transfers and show them how it's done? Yeah, it will be," He replied, meaning it.

"Oh quit it, I mean actually testing our skills against real people. We get to see just how good we are compared to everyone, not just the transfers." Isabelle replied, shoving him lightly. "Although, I'm sure you'll be watching the transfers very closely."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Jace asked defensively, turning to her instead of watching the doors.

"Oh come on, Jace. We've all noticed you staring and taking every opportunity to talk to her. It's the redhead, isn't it? She seems so soft for your taste…" Isabelle trailed off, shrugging.

"We'll see soon enough if she's soft or not," He muttered in response, turning back to watch the doors as the other initiates slowly trickled in. She hadn't arrived yet, but he knew she would. He couldn't wait.

…

"Clary, you'll be fine. Remember what Uriah said last week?" Maia said. "They'll underestimate you. Because you're a transfer. Because you, in particular, are so small. You can use that to your advantage. Surprise them, be faster than them. You've got this, even with a delicate head!"

"I know, I know! I'm just nervous, okay?" Clary replied, pulling on her shoes. "I really don't want to end up back in the medical wing."

"You won't. They aren't hardcore about these fights or anything. It's practice, not meant to seriously maim, injure, or kill anyone. And there aren't any weapons right now, so the worst you'll get are maybe some small cuts and some bruises." Maia reassured. "And if anyone puts you in the medical wing again, I will personally put them in there with you." Clary couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks, Maia, that's very nice of you," Clary said, shaking her head but meaning it. "Now hurry up, or we're gonna be late!"

…

"You can hit how you want, where you want, but I expect to see good stances and the past months' training show. " Uriah explained to all the initiates. They were all gathered in a large room, fairly empty besides a whiteboard, clock, and bell. The main decoration of the room was the large, raised ring in the middle of the room, like a boxing ring. Uriah continued.

"This isn't a fight to the death, and probably won't even be a fight to the knockout for most of you. When someone's down, they're down. These fights are to practice your skills, to make you better. This is _not_ a competition, there are no prizes. You will each eventually fight every single initiate at one point. We try to make the fights fair, we'll watch you and keep track of your skills at all times. So do your best, prove you're here for good and sharpen your skills to the best they can be. Use this time to your advantage. Questions?" He looked around the room, waiting for questions or challenges, making sure he had everyone's attention. No one spoke up, so he continued, "This will last a month and a half. Nine fights a day, a total of 18 of you, 7 transfers, 11 Dauntless born. Each fight is timed and lasts for 20 minutes, and the bell will ring to let you know when to begin and end. It doesn't take as long as the past training, so you have around half of the day to yourselves. I expect you to use it wisely, even taking the time to do some more training if you need it. The pairings and order will be posted every day when you come in here, on that board over there. Start warming up, we begin in 15 minutes." Everyone quickly made their way towards the board, eager to see who they were paired with and when they would be going. Clary crowded towards the board with everyone else, just as eager to find her name. She was too short to see anything besides the names at the top though. With a sigh, she backed out of the crowd, deciding to wait until everyone else dispersed.

"Clary, did you find your name?" Maia asked, bouncing up to her. She glared in response. "Oh, right, you probably couldn't see. You're fighting someone named Isabelle. She must be a Dauntless born since I don't recognize her name. You're so lucky! I'm fighting another transfer, Kirk. He's the one that almost got you killed though, so I'm okay with kicking his butt."

"Since when are there only 7 transfers? I thought we had 9?" Clary asked, thinking of it just then.

"Oh, yeah that happened while you were in the medical wing. One of the Candor transfers dropped out, just couldn't take it. He looked like he was gonna be sick when your head got cut, so it makes sense. Then an Erudite girl left, said he wished she had stayed at Erudite so she could read instead of fighting. Nothing real special about those though." She explained with a shrug. Then after a moment she said, "But anyway, you're fighting fourth, and I'm third, so we should practice!"

"Sure, sounds good to me. Lead the way," Clary replied, gesturing for Maia to do so. Maia grabbed Clary's arm and pulled her through the small bit of the crowd that was lingering, finding an empty space for them to stretch and practice in. Clary felt like she could win, no matter who she was against. Her muscles were strong, and she had her stance, punches and kicks down. She had practiced hard, and hadn't lost her strength from being injured. Glancing over at Maia occasionally, she could see that the other girl was slightly nervous, but still very determined.

After 15 minutes, Uriah let them all know the fights were starting, and several people went to watch, but most continued practicing and warming up.

Across the room, she recognized Jace, his blond hair as bright as ever. She could see he was fast as he practiced with a girl with long, black hair. The girl kept up with him though, which surprised her; She would hate to be the one fighting him on the first day. She wouldn't want to fight either of them, really. Clary watched them both, amazed. It was like watching a dance, the way they moved so fast around each other, dodging and hitting and blocking so fast and so smooth. She couldn't even tell if they were actually landing kicks or punches since neither of them stumbled or was thrown off. They looked like a great pair, evenly matched. Clary wondered briefly if they were a couple. Before she could ponder it further Maia got her attention.

"Clary!" Maia snapped, punching her arm semi-softly. "Quit watching pretty boy and come on. The second fight's starting and I want to watch and rest. Prepare myself, you know?"

"Yeah, okay. I'm coming." Clary replied, breaking her gaze and following Maia to the outside of the ring where two Dauntless born were beginning to fight. She was quickly reassured that these two weren't as good as Jace and the girl— they weren't as fast and didn't seem nearly as ferocious or deadly. Their kicks, punches, and stances were all the same as the ones Clary and her fellow initiates had learned the past month, although executed better and clearly better practiced. _How are any of us supposed to beat them?_, Clary thought, more and more doubtful she was going to win her fight today. She got so lost in her worry she almost didn't notice the fight end (even though there was a bell and louder cheering), until Maia started fidgeting and bumped into her.

"Sorry," Maia said. "I'm just a little nervous."

"You'll be fine! You know what you're doing, really Maia," Clary reassured.

"Okay, okay. You're right. I've got this. I've got this!" Maia mumbled. "Wish me luck."

"I doubt you need it," Clary said honestly. "But good luck." She smiled as reassuringly as she could, and Maia grinned as she walked into the ring, showing nothing but confidence. Her opponent, Kirk, looked nervous, but like he was ready to fight. Like he didn't think he would win but was going to try his hardest anyway. A bell rang and they were off, meeting in the center of the ring. They both hesitated, and Maia struck first, aiming a punch for his face. Kirk ducked, losing his balance for a minute before leaning back on his hands and tripping Maia. She fell hard, and Clary could hear her short groan. She rolled quickly though, aiming a kick at Kirk's now standing legs. She hit his shins and he stumbled back, almost falling over. Maia took the chance to stand, throwing her hands up in ready position once more. Kirk aimed a punch for her face, but Maia blocked it with her arm, wincing slightly. Maia tried to knee him then, while he was still close, but he caught it with his hands and pushed, throwing Maia backwards. She stayed on her feet though, and regained her balance quickly enough to make the next hit. She faked a punch on her left, which he went to block. She used the opportunity to deck him in the face. Clary winced in sympathy; It looked like that would leave a nasty bruise. He retaliated blindly, forcing Maia to step back while he regained his composure. Kirk threw the punch then, aiming for her stomach. The hit brushed her side slightly as she dodged, and she used the momentum to roundhouse kick him. It took him by surprise and hit him square in the chest, throwing him backward and onto the ground. Maia waited a moment, but Kirk didn't stand, he just laid there, trying to catch his breath and coughing. The time was up and the bell rang, and the small crowd cheered, patting Maia on the back as she entered the crowd once more. Someone helped Kirk up and led him back into the crowd too, and Clary realized with slight panic that it was her turn. Butterflies twisted her stomach, but she took a deep breath, meeting Maia at the edge of the ring.

"Good job!" Clary congratulated, hiding her own nerves.

"Thanks! That was so great!" Maia replied, exhilarated. "You be careful, and good luck!" Clary nodded and finally climbed into the ring. She had expected her opponent (Isabelle was it?) to already be there. She was, it seemed, but not in the ring. The girl she'd seen with Jace earlier, with the long black hair and dark eyes, was arguing with Uriah. Isabelle looked annoyed, but Uriah looked pissed. _What's going on here?_, Clary wondered, going to join them. As she got closer she could hear what the girl was saying.

"I just don't get why _I_ have to be the one to fight a transfer. Everyone else is fighting with someone in their group, so why _me_? Why not someone who needs to practice more? Like, I don't know, Meliorn. He'd be a better match for a transfer, not me. This fight is over before it's even going to begin!" Isabelle hissed, trying to be quiet but struggling with her annoyance.

"Is there a problem?" Clary interrupted tersely before Uriah could explode on her. It wasn't the girls fault she didn't want to fight a transfer, a Stiff no less. Clary had noticed that the Dauntless born initiates were fighting the Dauntless born, and the transfers were fighting the transfers. But the odd numbers meant someone had to change it up today. She knew there was a prejudice against her to them, but it didn't bother her too much up until now. Now anger boiled in her veins.

"No Clary, there's not," Uriah said to her, stiff but kind. Then he turned to Isabelle, teeth gritted. "You will fight her, I don't care if you think it's unfair. Life is not fair. Deal with it." He stalked away then, to the bell and timer that would track their match. Isabelle made a noise of annoyance and glared at both Uriah and Clary before heading to the ring and taking her place at one end. Clary followed, making a quick wish that she could show this Isabelle girl that she was wrong. Clary was just as good as a Dauntless born. Maybe not as good as this girl, but still good. She took her place, butterflies gone and adrenaline already pumping from her anger. She would show this Dauntless born…

The bell rang, signaling for them to go. Clary moved immediately, but Isabelle was faster and met her quickly. She threw a punch at Clary's head, making her duck, then another quick punch met her stomach, winding her. Clary took a few steps back, annoyed. Isabelle was fast. But Clary could be fast too, she was small enough, she was good enough. She stepped back towards Isabelle, who looked almost bored, raising her arm like she would punch. Isabelle fell for the trick, raising her arms to block, and Clary took the opportunity to kick. It connected with her stomach, pushing her back and winding her slightly, but not knocking her over. Isabelle caught her breath and flew at Clary, angry. She aimed a high kick first, which Clary ducked. Then a punch aimed at her stomach made Clary step back to dodge. Another punch aimed at her shoulder made her turn, so her left side was facing the other girl. Isabelle faked a punch at Clary's stomach, which she aimed to block, leaving her head open. Isabelle punched fast, hitting the side of Clary's head, right at her still healing wound. Pain blossomed and she distantly heard herself cry out as one hand cradled her ringing head. Somehow, instinctually, Clary was able to block another punch with her free hand, grabbing Isabelle's wrist and using the girls momentum to throw her behind Clary. Distantly she wondered where that had come from, how she'd done it, but she didn't have time to think about it. Still seeing spots, and surprised she hadn't passed out, Clary straightened, facing Isabelle, hands up and ready. Before Isabelle could recover completely, Clary kicked, landing the blow on Isabelle's shoulder and knocking her into a sitting position. Clary stumbled but remained on her feet, cursing her dizziness. Clearly frustrated, Isabelle stood as quick as she could, glaring. She moved faster than Clary's slowing mind could keep up with now, faking a kick at her stomach and instead knocking Clary's feet out from under her. Clary landed hard, the breath knocked out of her, still seeing spots. Then the bell rang, to Clary's huge relief. She stayed on the ground, catching her breath and wishing her head would stop pounding as she squeezed her eyes shut. She heard the crowd cheer loudly and knew she needed to get up.

"Are you okay?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Clary peeled her eyes open and saw Isabelle leaning over her, concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." Clary said shortly, shutting her eyes again and taking a breath.

"Cheater!" Clary winced at Maia's accusation, not loud but still there. "Get away from her!"

"What? I'm just making sure she's okay," Clary heard Isabelle reply, clearly hurt. "How did I cheat? This isn't even a competition."

"Oh please, you wanted to make it clear you won. Everyone's heard about her head almost getting cut off! There's no way you didn't do that on purpose." Maia accused. Clary sighed and opened her eyes. She saw Maia glaring, arms crossed defiantly, and Isabelle glaring back but looking slightly hurt, still kneeling next to Clary.

"I heard the story yes, I didn't know she was the one in it." Isabelle defended. "Sorry." The apology was sharp, but Clary could see the concern in her eyes as she glanced again at Clary. Before Maia could say anything else, Clary sat up and interrupted, "Maia, stop it! She didn't know, it's not her fault. Let it go. Jeez, I feel like I'm gonna pass out or something." She muttered the last part, but still loud enough for Maia to have heard. Maia hurried over and helped her stand.

"Come on, you need to get out of the ring," Maia said, supporting her.

"Yeah, thanks. I think I'm good," Clary said, taking a step from Maia and making sure she could stand before walking to the edge of the ring. Somehow she made it to the ground and to an empty space of wall on her own, both Maia and Isabelle staying with her.

"You can go now, I'm sure you have things to do." Maia said to Isabelle after a moment, clearly annoyed with the other girl.

"Maia! Be nice!" Clary scolded, rubbing her head. Maia scoffed, glaring at Clary like she'd betrayed her, then stormed off without another word. Isabelle stood with her awkwardly, shifting, unsure if she should go or not.

"Thanks, Isabelle, it was a good fight." Clary said finally, meaning it.

"Sorry for hitting your wound." Isabelle said. "And for not wanting to fight you. You're good, I can see why Uriah matched you with a Dauntless born and not someone else. You've got natural talent."

"Thanks," Clary said slowly, hoping she was sincere.

"I mean it, Clary. I think you belong here. You're not a Stiff, no matter what anyone says." Isabelle said sincerely. "If you ever wanna hang out… Well, yeah."

"Yeah, sure," Clary said with a smile. For a minute, she watched the fight in the ring. It looked like Dauntless born this time, a girl with brown hair and a guy with bright blond hair… "Hey, isn't that your boyfriend in the ring? Shouldn't you be watching his fight?" Isabelle looked over her shoulder at the ring and laughed lightly.

"Who, Jace? He's not my boyfriend. He's basically my brother, actually." Isabelle said. "But I should go watch. Want to come? You just can't pass out on me or something." Clary laughed and said, "I won't, don't worry. Let's go." They pushed their way to a front spot, both watching the match closely. Jace was clearly the better fighter, being quicker and better practiced, but the girl was stronger than him (though didn't look it); it would take a decent bit to take her down.

"So the blond one's Jace. Who's the girl?" Clary asked, leaning over slightly to Isabelle.

"That's Maureen. She may seem like the fast but weak type, but she's actually freakishly strong, and not all that fast," Isabelle told her, still watching the match closely.

"Good to know," Clary said, then muttered, "Though I'll probably forget it."

"You bad with names or something?" Isabelle asked with a laugh.

"Oh, um, yeah sort of," Clary responded, surprised she had heard. "I still don't even know all the transfers names. That's Maia's job." Isabelle chuckled and said, "There's only 7 of you, and minus you and Maia that's 5. How hard can it be?" Clary shrugged in response and Isabelle shook her head. The match bell rang, cutting off any more conversation. Jace had clearly done better, and Clary joined Isabelle in cheering. He shook Maureen's hand and then jumped down from the ring, finding Isabelle quickly.

"Nice job!" She said, meeting him as he walked towards them and giving him a hug. "Uck, you're gross though." She backed up and made a face, which he laughed at.

"That's what happens when you fight for 20 minutes at full force." He shrugged. "You're dirty too."

"Am not!" Isabelle replied, mock offended.

"Oh really? And how would that be?" Jace asked, teasing.

"I'm pure at heart, it repels the dirt." Isabelle replied, huffing and turning to walk back to Clary. "Jace I believe you know Clary. Clary, Jace."

"Yeah, we've talked like once." Clary replied, crossing her arms. She still didn't know how she felt about Jace. He was _really_ good looking, but Maia had warned her… "I should go find Maia. Nice meeting you Isabelle!"

"You too, we'll hang out soon!" Isabelle said, smiling and waving slightly as Clary walked away. When she was out of hearing distance, Jace turned on Isabelle.

"What the hell? You hated her an hour ago!" Jace said, confused.

"She's nice. And a good fighter. You were right, I think she belongs here." Isabelle replied, watching Clary still. "And I like her."

"One hour? That's all it took?" Jace asked, still perplexed by her. "You're one weird girl, Isabelle, seriously."

"You better hope I'll always take that as a compliment, Jace Herondale." She said threateningly, turning to glare. He just shook his head and laughed.

…

It didn't take Clary long to find Maia, chatting away with a small group of transfers, Kirk being one of the few she knew. When Maia spotted Clary she looked away as quick as she could, trying to ignore her. Clary sighed and approached anyway.

"Clary! We were just talking about you. We all saw your fight," Kirk explained when she came nearer. "It's pretty unfair that you got to be the one transfer to fight a Dauntless born today, but we agree that you're probably the best of us."

"That and it was worth it to see how frustrated that other girl got." One of the transfers said; Clary thought his name was Eric. The small group laughed at his comment, and Clary chuckled nervously.

"She was pretty good, I didn't think you stood a chance at first. No offense," said a girl with blond hair, Clary recalled her name was Helen.

"No, it's alright, I was doubtful too," Clary replied, laughing.

"Oh, my fight's next! I need to go!" Eric said, looking at the ring. "You guys should watch if you want!" He didn't wait for a response, just turned and started towards the ring, where Clary could see the timer only had 1 minute left. The rest of the group followed, leaving Clary with Maia. They both hesitated, standing there awkwardly.

"So, how's your head?" Maia finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Hurts like hell, but I'll be fine." Clary replied with a shrug. Clary paused, then opened her mouth to continue, but Maia spoke first.

"Don't say it, okay? I know I shouldn't have freaked out like I did, I'm sorry." Maia said quickly. "We're still cool, right?"

"Of course," Clary replied without hesitating. "I get it, you were worried. It could have easily been worse.. It's okay."

"Good, thanks," Maia said quietly.

"So were you guys really talking about my fight?" Clary asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, it was awesome, it's going to be the gossip for the day for sure," Maia replied, more energized by the thought of gossip. "I mean seriously, what other transfer could have lasted the entire fight with one of the best Dauntless born initiates?"

"You'll all get there soon, I won't be the only one for long," Clary protested.

"Well I did say gossip for the _day,_" Maia teased. Clary shook her head and laughed.

"Okay then. Let's go watch the rest of the fights, see if we can pick up any tricks or something," Clary suggested. Maia nodded, and they both made their way to the ring to watch the few remaining fights.

…

After lunch they had the rest of the day to themselves, so Maia convinced Clary to go shopping with her.

"I just don't see much point in shopping. Everything is black and looks basically the same," Clary explained to Maia as they searched through the store, looking for things they liked.

"But it's fun! And it does not look all the same. You should know, don't you remember the baggy clothes you had to wear your first week here?" Maia argued. "We shop so we look good and don't wear the same sweaty outfits all the time." Maia glared, daring Clary to oppose her.

"Who even notices? What, are you trying to impress someone?" Clary asked, turning to Maia with a hand on her hip.

"No, shut up," Maia said quickly, looking intently at a clothes rack. Was that a blush she saw...

"Oh my god! You are! Who? Tell me!" Clary said, moving across the rack so they were facing each other.

"No one! It's none of your business," Maia replied, still not meeting her eyes.

"Is it a transfer?" Clary asked, but Maia shook her head. "A Dauntless born? Of course, it's got to be, you weren't like this before."

"Fine. Yes, it's a Dauntless born," Maia relented, sighing. "His name's Jordan. Of course, that probably means nothing to you."

"No, not really." Clary admitted. "But I'll learn soon enough. What's he look like?"

"Long brown hair, hazel eyes, tall." Maia rattled off. "I don't know. I'll point him out to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Wait, is he the one with the tattoos all over both arms?" Clary asked, thinking.

"Yeah, that's him! He congratulated me on my fighting skills after my fight." Maia answered excitedly. "I can't believe you remembered who he is."

"He's the only guy with long hair," Clary said, shrugging. "And he is pretty cute."

"Keep to your own crushes, Fray," Maia replied. "Now come on, I wanna buy this."

…

2 clothes stores and an art shop later they were heading to the tattoo shop.

"What do you think you'll get this time?" Clary asked.

"I don't know, I was thinking a wolf. What do you think?" Maia replied.

"Sounds good, suits you." Clary answered, nodding.

"What about you?" Maia asked.

"I like those rune designs, like the other one I have." Clary said, touching her shoulder. Maia shrugged and they walked the rest of the way in silence. They stood in the lobby for a while, flipping through the many binders that were set out, trying to decide on something in particular. Finally two people came out a door to the back, talking.

"Be careful with it now, that wasn't an easy one." The tattoo artist said. Clary looked over and saw him with Isabelle, who was examining her wrist.

"I will be. And thanks," Isabelle said, finally looking up and smiling at him. "Clary!" Isabelle bounced over to them happily.

"Hey Isabelle," Clary said with a smile. "You get a tattoo?"

"Yeah, see," Isabelle stuck out her left arm, wrist up, to show her tattoo. It was another runic design, like a lowercase t with an extra line through it and swirls at every end.

"Woah, cool," Maia said before Clary could.

"Thanks! It's Maia, right?" Isabelle clarified, and Maia nodded. "Cool! So what are you two getting?"

"I'm looking at the runic ones too," Clary said, holding up the binder she was looking through.

"I'm getting a wolf," Maia said, holding up the one she'd chosen. It was a wolf on a rock, howling at the moon, overall not a large tattoo (about shoulder size), but Clary wouldn't have wanted it personally. She thought it suited Maia though.

"You wanna go first?" The tattoo artist had come over and was looking at Maia.

"Yeah sure, she'll take twice as long to decide." Maia answered, smiling at Clary in slight apology.

"I've got to go, I promised my brother I'd show him my tattoo right away. See you guys around," Isabelle said, waving as she walked out. Maia and Clary waved goodbye, then went back to their tattoos.

"If you've chosen one, I can get them both ready," The tattoo artist suggested kindly. Clary considered for a moment, then pointed at one. It was a slightly more complicated one, like a diamond with circle and a couple of lines inside, and some lightning looking lines coming off it.

"That one," She said confidently, then settled in a chair to wait patiently for it. It would hurt (she had learned she didn't like getting tattoos very much), but she felt like she needed it.

**A/N: Wow finally another chapter after… what now? 4 months? Sorry… I hope to be writing more often, but this one's decently long, so it should hold you over… right? If you're wondering yes the runic tattoos are inspired by the shadowhunter runes, and in this chapter Isabelle's was based on the Power rune, and Clary's was based on the Protected rune. As always, thank you for reading! Please favorite and/or follow, and I really appreciate any reviews or comments, they motivate me and remind me to continue. Thank you again for reading, and stay lovely~**


End file.
